Once again I have been traveling halfway across the world. I guess when Deepak Chopra invites you to his retreat, you go. Even if this means going all the way to Dubai to do so. Luckily I have some crazy friends that joined me. Danille joked I was going to come back and demand people take off their shoes while we sit on yoga mats for our MC Companies meetings. Ha, while I didn’t take it that far, I did learn a lot. I had two big takeaways from my trip. One had to do with gratitude and the other with time.  

 Let’s start with being grateful. Sometimes it is easy for all of us, even me, to feel ungrateful. Sometimes life doesn’t seem fair or we are struggling with something that seems like too big of a hill to climb. However, if you live in a first-world country like the United States and have people who love you and a roof over your head, that is enough. Most people around the world don’t have what we have. I always think to myself those people who proclaim they hate living in the United States, haven’t traveled much outside of it. If they did go abroad to second and third-world countries they would realize just how good we have it here. Even poor people in the US have more than most of the world. Sometimes I just need to be reminded of this and thankful for my life. People die for the freedoms and wealth we have in this country, even though it may not feel like it sometimes.  

 Now to discuss time. The wealth we have in the US is abundant, but our time is what is limited. Go, go, go that is the American way. While we do have many advantages in this country, time is not one of them. When I took a look around the culture in Dubai I realized people have time. They don’t work 40 hours a week and if they do it isn’t like work here. It is more laid back, and more freeing. For example, my massage therapist finished my massage and met the other therapists for beers at the front counter in between clients. It was basically 5 women having a happy hour and then would take a client as they walked in. In America, sometimes we forget to enjoy our time. It isn’t all about money and lifestyle. I am personally taking that to heart, as I navigate ways to manage my time better. I need to make time for those people who are most important to me.  

 The last thing I learned in Dubai is exotic cars are a lot cheaper and more common, which made it a great last day of my meditation retreat. Ha! 

 Until Next Time,  

Ken